Giving "The Giving Tree" ...

As posted here this past Friday, Anderson was the speaker on Saturday evening at The Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, as part of the 16th season of the The Florida Forum. Proceeds from the event are donated to Wolfson Children's Hospital; Anderson toured the facility prior to the speech, signing copies of "The Giving Tree" for the children as a memento of the visit. Photos are from The Florida Times Union, taken by photographer Craig O'Neal / Jacksonville.com.







You can view several more photos at the Florida Times-Union web site on this page and here as well. A Times-Union write-up has also been posted for today:

The Florida Times-Union
October 21, 2007

Anderson Cooper: He runs to where others are running from

By Mary Kelli Palka,
The Times-Union

After graduating from Yale University in 1989 with a political science degree, Anderson Cooper tried to break into broadcast journalism.

But after being turned down by ABC News, he grabbed a home video recorder and a fake press pass (made by a friend) and headed to Burma, in Southeast Asia, and later to Somalia and Rwanda, to free-lance.

Now the anchor of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, the son of designer Gloria Vanderbilt and writer Wyatt Cooper covers everything from natural disasters to wars and politics.

"To me, there's nothing more exciting than being in the field, running to where others are running from," Cooper said Saturday night during a speech at the Florida Theatre, part of the 16th season of the Florida Forum.

Proceeds from the event go to Wolfson's Children's Hospital, which Cooper toured before giving his speech.

During the event, he said many people try to divide themselves into categories, but as a news reporter he tries to maintain a balance and stick to the facts.

"I think viewers want facts and, informed and armed with that, I think they're smart enough to make up their own minds," he said.

Cooper covered a wide range of topics during his speech and during a question-and-answer period that followed.

- On elections:

"I find covering elections fascinating," he said. Next month, he'll moderate a Republican presidential debate sponsored by CNN and YouTube.

He said he was surprised at how orchestrated many of the debates are, pointing to one during the 2004 campaign between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry. There were discussions about everything from the height of the lecterns (50 inches, he said) to the type of pencils they could use (No. 2.) When it came to the temperature, Cooper said Kerry wanted it no warmer than 70 degrees, "because Kerry sweats," Cooper said. And Bush's camp wanted it to be higher, "Well, because Kerry sweats."

- On career advice from his mother:

As he was graduating from college, he said he asked her for advice on what he should do next.

"She's a remarkable lady, but practical she's not," he said.

Vanderbilt told her son to "Follow your bliss," he said. She picked up the line from someone on a PBS show.

"I should be grateful she wasn't watching Montel Williams," he said.

- On the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:

Four or five days after the hurricane, Cooper said he saw a man's body sprawled on the top of a car. "It laid there for over a week," he said.

And he told the story of a 91-year-old woman who survived the storm, but died three days later in a borrowed wheelchair outside the Superdome.

He said Katrina was a story of government failure, but he fears so much that happened there may easily be forgotten.

- On covering celebrities:

"The thing I'm terrible at is talking to celebrities," he said. "I never know what to ask them."

He said he enjoyed serving as a guest host on Live with Regis and Kelly, but when it came to talking to people like television personality Nicole Richie, he literally didn't have a thing to ask.

"What would I ask Nicole Richie except tell her to eat something?" he asked.

And one more article - from First Coast News:

Anderson Cooper Helps Raise Money for Local Children's Hospital

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Emmy-award winning journalist Anderson Cooper visited the First Coast Saturday to raise money for the Wolfson Children's Hospital.

He spoke at the Florida Theatre as part of the annual Florida Forum. The forums have contributed more than $4.5 Million to Wolfson Children's Hospital over the last 16 years.

Before the lecture he visited the hospital to see his work in action.

Cooper has special ties to the hospital. He told First Coast News when he was younger he went trick-or-treating with the Wolfson Children.

He also told us about the upcoming Republican Youtube debate he is moderating in November in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

"I think its an important forum and I think its a new way of doing a debate. I think if they didn't come it wouldn't reflect well," Cooper told First Coast News when asked if all the GOP candidates had signed on for the debate.

Cooper has a lot on his plate. He has spent most of 2007 traveling the world for the CNN documentary, "Planet in Peril."

It airs Tuesday, October 23rd and Wednesday, October 24th at 9:00p.m.

Cooper tells First Coast News he will head to the Congo for his next adventure.

Thanks for visiting!!!!